The present invention relates to an infant observation mirror for car travel.
In a typical automobile having front and rear seats, present evidence indicates that the safest location for an infant is in the back seat with the seat oriented such that the infant faces toward the back of the vehicle. In some countries legislation requires infants to be placed in such a position. One of the problems in locating an infant in this position is that the only way that the infant can be observed by a person in the front seat is for that person to bodily turn and lean over the front seat. Clearly, this procedure is not only inconvenient but dangerous should the driver be the one attempting to observe the infant.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,572 issued Oct. 27, 1987 to Cossey discloses a system for viewing an infant in the rear seat of a vehicle in which a mirror is attached by means of a mounting bracket to the top of the rear seat back. The Cossey mirror includes a telescopic vertical adjustment, a ball and socket adjustment and a spring-biased mounting bracket. Because of its construction, the Cossey device necessitates the use of rigid material, both to achieve vertical adjustment of the mirror position relative to the seat as well as to allow adjustment of the mirror about a fixed point. Thus, the telescopic mounting tubes, the ball and socket connection and the seat mounting assembly all present the danger of injury to a child or other occupant, either during an accident or upon rapid deceleration of the vehicle. Moreover, the mirror position in the Cossey system presents an obstacle to the vision of the driver through the front rearview mirror out the back windshield of the vehicle. Furthermore, the greater elevation of the mirror makes it more difficult for the infant to look squarely into the mirror, making the mirror less effective as an amusement device for the child.